Furnace construction



April 1934- K. B. FAULKNER 1,955,956

FURNACE FONSTRUCTION 1 I Filed D60. 16, 1932..

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Patented Apr. 24, 1934 I 1,955,956 FURNACE CONSTRUCTION Karl B. Faulkner, Corning, N. Y., assignor to' Corning Glass Works, Corning, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 16, 1932, 'Serial No. 647,647

2 Claims. (01. 49-56).

V This invention relates to glass melting furnaces and more particularly to the construction of the working opening of a tank furnace.

The refining end of a prior tank of this type 5 is provided with a. plurality of working openings through which the glass is removed by the workmen for fabrication into ware. The working openings comprise a series of holes in the tank walls which are occupied by boots and which are somewhat above the level of the glass in the tank.

The boots are formed of clay or other refractory materials and are somewhat similar in shape and appearance to a small covered glass melting pot with an open bottom and a long hood, the front edge of the top of which is turned upward to form a flange. The boot is placed in the tank so that it rests in the glass with its open bottom downward and its hood extending into and through the opening of the tank wall, the pad or bottom of the hood resting on the wall. The hood of the boot is sealed into the tank wall by means of ordinaryfire bricks and jack bricks, the latter of which are approximately twice the 1 length and width of an ordinary firebrick and are laid on top of the boot hood inside the flange thereof. The bricks and jack bricks are thus built up around the hood to completely close the space between it and the tank wall, the flange on the hood remaining outside and abutting the jack bricks. Since little, if any, of the weight of the boot is carried by the molten glass practically its entire weight is supported by the hood resting on the tank wall while the jack bricks and the bricks there-above serve to prevent the boot from tipping or falling back into the tank.

In the past difficulty has been experienced in such installations through frequent failures caused by a shearing of a part or all of the flange on the boot hood and the loosening of the jack bricks with a eonsequentfalling back of the boot into the tank. Experience has shown that the average life of a boot in a tank running at a temperature of 1500" C. or more is less than twentyfour days. These frequent failures are a source of expense not only on account of the cost of setting new boots but also on accountof the debris which is introduced. into the glass thereby.

It is an object of the present invention to prevent relative movement between a boot and the 5 wall of the tank in which it has been installed.

Another object is to preserve glass quality by overcoming any tendency of a boot to fall into the molten metal. Other objects are to avoid frequent repairs and renewal of boots andthereby reduce the cost of tank operation.

Generally speaking, my invention comprises forming an upwardly extending flange on the top of the boot hood, forming a groove in the lower face of each jack brick and laying these bricks on top of the boot hood so that-the flange of the boot extends into. the grooves and the edges of the bricks project somewhat beyond the front of the hood, thereby tending to counterbalance the weight of the boot.

My invention furtherresides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be more fully described herein, claimed in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which: v

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a working opening of a tank furnace showing the hood ,of the boot held in position by jack bricks, in accordance with my invention and Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. V

In the drawing, a boot 10 having a hood 11 which is formed at its front edge with an integral upwardly extending flange 12 is placed in one of the working openings formed in the side of a melting furnace so that the under side of the hood 11 rests on the tank wall 13 and the body of the boot is brought'up against the rear side of said wall. Jack'brieks 14, the lower course of which are provided with longitudinal grooves 15 and angularly bevelled ends 16 are placed on top of the hood so that the grooves 15 receive the flange 12. Additional jack bricks are then laid upon those which rest directly on the hooduntil the space between the hood and the top of the working opening is completely filled. The adja- 90 cent ends of the lowermost course of jack bricks are bevelled so that when in placethe bricks will be in interlocking relation. .As illustrated,'the grooved jack bricks 14 overhang the front edge of the boot for a short distance and the upper courses of jack bricks are built up so that their front faces are flush with the front faces of the lower course of jack bricks, thus forming in effect a counterbalance for that portion of the boot which projects into the furnace. The grooves .15 in the 190 jack bricks 14 may be formed by cutting into prethe front face of which is flush with the wall 13.

The ends of the lower course of jack bricks 14 extend laterally beyond the sides of the hood l1 and are bonded into the filler bricks 1'7. Although I have shown the lower course of bricks 14 to be two in number I do not wish to be limited thereto since it is obvious that this number may be increased or that one long brick may be used in lieu thereof to accomplish the same result.

By installing a boot as above described, I have found that I can entirely prevent shearing of the flange 12 and. can practically" treble the average working life of the boot. In fact, my experience has been that the working life of boots thus installed is limited not by the ultimate failure and consequent removal thereof but only by the substitution of other boots of varying sizes and shapes as it becomes necessary to alter the kind and size of glassware which is being fabricated.

While in the foregoing, there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, vit is to be understood that minor changes in the construction, combination, and

arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In combination a tank furnace having a working opening, a boot in said opening, a course of jack bricks resting on the boot and overhanging its front edge and additional courses of jack bricks resting on the lowermost course of jack bricks for closing the working opening above the boot and maintaining the boot in place.

2. In combination a tank furnace having a working opening, a boot in said opening, an upwardly extending flange on the boot, a course of grooved jack bricks resting on the boot and overhanging its front edge, additional courses of jack bricks resting on the lower course of jack bricks for closing the working opening above the boot and maintaining the boot in place, and filler bricks filling the spaces between the sides of the boot and the side walls of the working opening.

KARL B. FAULKNER. 

